Sensing Cox Processes via Posterior Sampling and Positive Bases

Abstract: We study adaptive sensing of Cox point processes, a widely used model from spatial statistics. We introduce three tasks: maximization of captured events, search for the maximum of the intensity function and learning level sets of the intensity function. We model the intensity function as a sample from a truncated Gaussian process, represented in a specially constructed positive basis. In this basis, the positivity constraint on the intensity function has a simple form. We show how an minimal description positive basis can be adapted to the covariance kernel, non-stationarity and make connections to common positive bases from prior works. Our adaptive sensing algorithms use Langevin dynamics and are based on posterior sampling (\textsc{Cox-Thompson}) and top-two posterior sampling (\textsc{Top2}) principles. With latter, the difference between samples serves as a surrogate to the uncertainty. We demonstrate the approach using examples from environmental monitoring and crime rate modeling, and compare it to the classical Bayesian experimental design approach.